North Carolina regulators have ordered Duke Energy to resubmit its proposal for assessing the extent of groundwater contamination leaking from 33 coal ash dumps across the state after deeming the company's current plans "inadequate."

The N.C. Division of Water Resources has given Duke 30 days to resubmit the plans with a list of proposed changes. Duke is required to perform the assessments by a new state law passed in response to the massive Feb. 2 spill at a plant in Eden that coated 70 miles of the Dan River with gray sludge.

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Coal ash contains numerous toxic heavy metals, including lead, arsenic and mercury. State regulators have said all of Duke's unlined waste pits are contaminating groundwater. Duke had submitted its required monitoring plans to the state in September.